Chapter 1

He was there. Within the enormous palace, when the sky lifted its veil, silvery rays enveloped his entire form, revealing an unparalleled gleam.

Shrouded in mystery, his aura glowed like that of a god. His silver hair was a perfect match for the new moon's rays. He had the whitest skin anyone could ever see; it felt as smooth and soft as cotton, or as if my cold, callous hands would melt the snow off of him.

I could see his wide shoulders trembling with each gentle, yet melodious, giggle from his flawless scarlet lips. Everything was visible to me, and I could see how much they meant to me.

He remarked, "You did a splendid job, Isabella," in a voice I could hear for all time. Something gave way inside my chest. I could always pull my cloak over my head to reduce the intensity of his light and yet be able to appreciate his beauty from a distance.

"You completed your work, now it's time to take care of your family as I promised," he said, his voice growing softer by the minute. He looked up at me.

His sluggish motions just served to highlight how magnificent everything about him was, including his gait, speech, and laughter. I wouldn't mind walking down the road with stained hands if it meant that he could keep that golden wreath for himself—after all, he is the only reason I exist.

"Well, is there anything you would like to have?" He bent forward. I couldn't resist opening my eyes wider. My lips, which I had noticed were dry from the reflection in the window, started to curl up. I never gave a damn about the discomfort when it came to this young man, even if it aches because the dried skin inside of them strains.

His palm reached the edges of my hair, which felt dry from the ripped-up experimentation I had received from Sir Hubbard, and I gasped. My smile never went away, though.

"Charles," I said, trying to sound as quiet as possible but in actuality, I heard myself speak harshly, like someone who was out of breath.

"Huh?" He asked me to see how red his eyes were, and when I did, I realized how ugly I was."Please put an end to Sir Hubbard's electronic experiments. Charles, please?" I begged. 

I tore one of his buttons and seized his imperial clothes, but all I got in exchange was a sigh. 

I sensed his hands encircling me and heard him murmur encouraging words. I always gripped his warmth when it got cold, so that night it felt like hundreds of needles had been removed from my chest.

***

"Do you really think his highness would stop me? You're wrong," stated Sir Hubbard. 

He was an old man with no hair, large eyes that resembled rotten potatoes, a sour nose, and lips that would have dried out all the water in his body. I had the same emotion that he did when I stared into his eyes.

"N-No! Charles assured me! He promised to prohibit you from testing me in experiments! What right do you have to touch the empress of the future——" The large elderly man laughed in front of me so loudly that it seemed to be mocking me before I could finish what I was saying.

"You see, you're no longer a woman, and it doesn't even appear that you understood that giving your family to His Highness Prince Charles would result in their demise."

"Don't you dare ruin my family's and Charles' reputation!" 

"Oh, so you were unaware of it, and in addition, quit referring to His Highness by name; you are merely his puppet and not a member of the imperial family, don't you even realize that?" 

"No! Charles assured me that he only loved me, that I was the only person he cared about, and that he would stop me from doing this."

As I let out a shout, I noticed that tears were streaming down my cheeks. I can taste the bitterness it imparts, but it has never bothered me more than Charles. Charles wasn't like that, so I had to stop this old man from disparaging him.

"So, why are you in here?" I stopped. 

I gave him a wide-eyed stare. His beard was still wet, so much was all over his mouth as he let out this huge shout of laughing.

"You foolish, incompetent rat. Do you not believe that His Highness brought you here to remind you that you must keep his word?"

His words pierced my ears like a pair of sharp blades and caused a well-like bleed in my ears.

"Charles wouldn't do that; he wouldn't do that at all."

The old man grabbed my wrist and made me sit on the wooden chair, saying, "Oh shut up!" He placed a wooden cap on my head after a short while, and while it felt good at the time, it never worked. I had the impression that I had come into powerful lightning. 

The fact that I survived the experiments that began a month ago shocked me even more. I would lose track of my activities after leaving here and only wake up the next night.

"Aww! What happened? It hurts" I said, covering my head with my hands, but when I looked around, I saw that I had already entered a little alleyway and was wearing a coat. 

I tried to recall, but all that came back to me was how Sir Hubbard had experimented on me with that wooden cap, and it all seemed to happen at once. I searched all around, but when I finally looked up, I noticed a figure, he had already passed away and wasn't living anymore. 

He could have been one of the knights I had seen defending the crown prince. Although he is a very skilled knight, he is seated on the ground with a knife ripped across his chest. His body was covered with blood, some of which had dried up.

"How the hell is this?" My trembling hands revealed with soaked blood. My legs shook. I heard heavy footsteps running in my direction just as I was about to crawl away.

I had no idea why I had ended up here, why this had happened, or, most importantly, why I had killed a man I didn't even know and didn't intend to kill. My body decided to leave the situation on its own before I could give up. 

My feet scrambled as quickly as they could as if the horrific scene earlier hadn't made them shake. I felt uncomfortable because I could hear my breathing, the sounds of the leaves I touched, and the sounds of the creatures living in the center of the forest.

This is not possible. I refuse to become someone I hardly know. But once more, who am I? I've known this for a long time, but I rarely had the opportunity to acknowledge or reject it.

I lie down on a tree and look out at a lake that is as pristine as the sky above like an ocean. After taking a brief break to wash, I realized that I had never viewed myself quite how I do now. Hair that had been sticky, like a cement rug, a face so covered in grime that it was hard to recognize, eyes that had lost their light, a nose that was as grouchy as that old man's, and lips that were so pale that they could hardly be mistaken for the crimson lips of a noble. It's completely dry and covered in dead skin.

I don't want to change anything, though, because Charles seems to like me this way. Speaking of Charles, I ought to pay him a surprise visit this evening. 

I quickly cleansed everything that had been splattered with blood, erased my memories of that slain knight, and proceeded as usual to Charles' chambers after having this notion. Like nothing had happened previously. 

I kept getting lost when I tried to escape the forest, but eventually, I saw a small hut with smoke coming from a small pipe above the roof. I went straight there since I was curious and because nobody else seemed to be around. 

I reasoned that a knock twice or three times wouldn't disturb anyone, but nobody appeared to hear them. I attempted to do so, but when the door opened just a little, I noticed that nobody was there. 

It's like a storage space without any furniture or a bed. As I was about to close the door behind me, I heard something drop to the ground. I became inquisitive, and I gasped when I turned to see where that thing had fallen. 

It was not at all a thing. The young man wore clothing that exuded grandeur and had his signature golden blonde hair. Who the hell carried out this?

"Your Highness, how are you doing?" I inquired, but all I could hear was his groan. I assisted him by severing the rope that was binding his two hands behind his back. 

I was able to exit the tiny hut and head towards the lake earlier, but I heard footsteps. They resembled some assassins sent to assassinate this person rather than the footsteps of a knight. 

I tried to get away with this crown prince and head in the direction of the second prince because I had no idea what was going on. Since I knew Charles loved his brother very much, I understood that he did not wish to ascend to the kingdom at the expense of him. 

Who in the world is doing this, is the only question that remains. I searched for a rational escape route, and eventually, I discovered one that took me around the back of the imperial household. This forest was familiar to me. 

I heard a knight wandering just as I was ready to go inside, so I remained silent and barely grabbed the crown prince's body. I began to stroll silently with the sleeping prince in my arms as soon as I realized there were no more rovers. 

Knowing that there was a deal between the two that allowed Charles to take the throne without the crown prince's death, I'm positive that Charles would thank me if he discovered that I had saved his brother. 

I was about to walk into Charles' chamber when I heard two voices, that of a young noble lady whose voice I could not recognize, and that of a well-known young guy I was in love with.

"When will you kill her then?"

"I'm gathering evidence in that regard shortly after her crimes have been committed."

"You're forcing Hubbard to harm her in that way for that reason. What does she mean to you, then, please?"

"She? That rodent? She was only someone I could use, someone who eventually allowed me to destroy her family and vanished from the noble's view. Would you even bring up how foolish and idiotic that individual was? Well, she's simply a rat now, not a person anymore."

I nearly burst out laughing, and everything fell apart.

"Tell me now, what are your plans for the crown prince?" 

"Don't you think you're the most gorgeous woman in the empire, Lady Bella? Since you are the only person, I truly love and deserve, I will stop at nothing to take the throne—even if it means killing my best friend and precious older brother to win your heart."

"So, have you already killed him?"

"By morning, he might already be dead."

*** 

Because I trusted the wrong people, these knights were pursuing me as a result.

"Recapture that impolite, arrogant woman! It can't be that far for her! Last night, she killed someone!" A large voice rang out from the small street, and as I turned to face it, I ran into the strongest wall I had ever encountered. It turned out to be a knight, someone I was familiar with from the Frandhurt household.

"Lady Isabella, you were no longer able to run, or should I say—"

"Please, forgive me; I didn't mean to..." I've been sleepwalking and talking so much since Hubbard's experiment on me that I can only see myself killing someone at night.

Three months have passed since I left Charles and the crown prince to escape the imperial household. I wanted to exact retribution, but to do so, I needed to work and save money, learn more about Charles's schemes, and eventually expose Charles to the harshness of his medication.

But I was captured again at the beginning of it all.

***

"You must have found it difficult, huh?" Like me, a prisoner spoke. We had already been taken to the location of the execution or arena and placed in a cage. There were just five of us, as far as I could tell.

"Then, what crimes did you commit?" The woman laughed when I inquired. Although, based solely on appearance, she doesn't seem like a lady to me.

"Are we not all spies for the second prince?"

"You're the woman who vanished a year ago, correct?"

"I thought he killed you, but you're still alive, it seemed that you're doing what he wanted you to do," I swallowed and nodded. "But why?" I inquired.

Subsequently, an old woman who appeared as though she had lost her vitality spoke.

"Sometimes all we needed to know who to trust was a lesson worth learning. Simply put, young woman, you trusted the wrong man. So instead, allow me to ask you. How would you like your life to unfold if you could start over again?"

A knight grabbed me and instantly put my head to the guillotine before I had a chance to respond to her. It would not be possible for me to respond to the elderly woman's inquiry. That is not possible.

However, when I turned to face the second prince, he was grinning at me and clutching a young woman named Bella who was sitting on his lap because she was afraid that their head might explode.

But what if I was offered another chance? I suppose I don't know because it's never meant to be anyway.

Then everything turned dark.

"I will give her the name Isabella, a name that will one day shape her destiny, a name to face all the obstacles life throws at her, and a name to thrive despite them all."